Jackie Bradley Jr. and David Price made sure the Boston Red Sox didn’t leave Kansas City empty-handed.
Bradley Jr. extended his hitting streak to 24 games with a second-inning home run, and Price hadĀ another solid outingĀ in the Red Sox’s 5-2 win over the Royals at Kauffman Stadium in Game 2 of the teams’ day-night doubleheader Wednesday.
Boston had lost the first two games of the series,Ā so a win was a welcome sign for the Red Sox before they head home to Fenway Park.
Let’s see how Boston avoided the sweep.
GAME IN A WORD
JBJ
Need we say more? The Red Sox center fielder had yet another hit, and he’s closing in on Dom DiMaggio’s 34-game hitting streak, which still is the longest in team history.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
Christian Vazquez hit a two-run single in the top of the sixth inning.
The Red Sox were up 2-1 at the time, so the Royals were well within striking distance, but Vazquez gave Price some breathing room when he extended Boston’s advantage to 4-1.
ON THE BUMP
— Price’s start to his Red Sox career hasn’t been completely smooth, but he showed major signs of improvement against theĀ Houston Astros on May 12 after he made an adjustment to his delivery.
And he took another step forward Wednesday.
The Red Sox ace allowed twoĀ earned runs onĀ five hits while striking out five in 7 1/3 innings. He improved his record to 6-1 and his ERA to 5.53.
—Ā Junicha Tazawa replaced Price after he allowedĀ a double toĀ Alcides Escobar, who later scored on a Lorenzo Cain RBI single. But Mookie Betts made sure the score remained 5-2 with a heads up play in right field.
— Craig Kimbrel hitĀ Kendrys Morales to begin the ninth inning, but the Red Sox closer gotĀ Salvador Perez to hit into a double play andĀ Cheslor Cuthbert to strike out en route to his 11th save.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— Bradley Jr. can’t be stopped.
He now has hit in 24 straight games thanks to his home run to center field in the top of the second inning, which gaveĀ Boston an early 1-0 lead. HeĀ went 2-for-3 with a walk, run and RBI.
— Betts joined the fun in the third inning with a solo home run of his own. Betts belted the first pitch he saw into the left field bleachers for his seventh homer of the season.
—Ā Bradley Jr. is hitting so well right now that heĀ wasĀ intentionally walked with two outs in the top of the sixth. That decision came back to bite the Royals, though, as Vazquez put the Sox up 4-1Ā when he drove in Travis Shaw and Josh Rutledge, who just missed a home run earlier in the inning, with a two-run single.
Vazquez drove in another run in the eighth on a groundout, as he went 2-for-4 with three RBIs in the win.
TWEET OF THE GAME
Jackie. Bradley. Jr.
UP NEXT
The Red Sox return to Fenway Park for a weekend series with the Cleveland Indians. First pitch for Friday’s game is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET.
Thumbnail photo viaĀ Denny Medley/USA TODAY Sports ImagesĀ
